Is there distinction between a sale of property and cession of rights to property in Zimbabwe?

Yes. There is a distinction between a sale of property and cession of rights to property in Zimbabwe from one person to another. Where parties enter into a contract of sale of land, ownership is passed through registration in the Deeds Registry in terms of section 14(a) of the Deeds Registries Act [Chapter 20:05]. Cession of rights over immovable property in Zimbabwe on the other hand does not result in ownership being passed from one person to the other. It simply passes limited rights which fall short of ownership, as the ownership remains with the local authority. see CBZ Bank Ltd v Moyo & Another 2018 (1) ZLR 178 (S).

The Supreme Court in Gomba v Makwarimba 1992 (2) ZLR 26 (S) 27G – 28B it was held that:

“As so often happens, the parties have used the word ‘sale’ to describe what is in reality a cession of rights, since the house actually belongs to the Chitungwiza Town Council… it is unfortunate that legal practitioners persist in ignoring the distinctions between sale and cession of rights in these cases, both because there are many such cases and because there are many such distinctions.”